A month had passed. During that month, Lin actively participated in academy life and continued to grow stronger. He also joined the faculty of the Dead Worlds and spent ti there, learning new things he didn’t know or hadn’t fully understood before.
He also continued training with his katana, now under the instruction of Teacher Anthony, who helped him whenever he couldn’t grasp sothing. His movents were becoming more natural, and he began to fall into a light rage less often whenever he failed to feel connected to the sword.
The academy also had general knowledge accessible to every student. This included: advancent to the rank of "Call" and "Adept", general history of the Magic World, varieties of Distorted creatures, how they deceive human perception, and much more. Lin also studied these records and deepened his understanding of the Dead Worlds.
Overall, in just a month, Lin learned more about the Dead Worlds than he had in his entire life, and he was truly grateful for it. But he didn’t relax — he kept pushing forward, knowing that only through continued developnt could he achieve real results.
...
At present, Lin and Egro stood on the training field, watching the upcoming match between Silia and Royal.
"Who do you think will win?" Egro asked Lin.
Lin observed the two students carefully and tried to analyze who had better form, stance, grip on the sword, and more. After a mont of thought, he replied:
"This is a rather interesting situation. Silia uses a rapier, which allows her to deliver fast and precise strikes. Her movents during training were agile, so she can adapt to each attack — if she sees it. But Royal..."
"He’s more interesting than Silia. Though his stance looks arrogant, and he gazes at Silia dismissively as if not taking her seriously, he’s actually prepared for anything — any attack, clash, or movent Silia might make. His two-handed sword may seem unwieldy, but with his strength, it becos a deadly weapon capable of making agile moves just like Silia’s rapier," Lin concluded.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"I must admit. I’m impressed by that analysis," a figure appeared next to Lin and began clapping.
Lin imdiately frowned and stepped to the side. He looked at the boy beside him and recognized one of the strange individuals at the academy — Aran Mort, a pale-faced, red-eyed, black-haired boy from the Mort family.
"Haha. Why is my appearance always taken so seriously?" He stretched his neck forward and looked at Lin with red eyes, then continued: "Royal, Silia, you, even Teacher Anthony — everyone steps away the mont I show up... It makes so sad... But you..."
Aran pointed at Egro and smiled:
"One ti, when you gave a spear masterclass, you didn’t flinch when I appeared beside you... Maybe you have a secret? A skill that lets you sense sothing that’s always there but people never pay attention to?"
Lin was slightly surprised by Aran’s words and looked at Egro, noticing the alert expression on his face, mixed with a hint of fear.
"Everything has a consciousness. I think that phrase is enough for you to understand," Egro replied to Aran.
Aran laughed imdiately and nodded.
"Haha! Yes. I understand now. You don’t seem so dangerous anymore... But you..." Aran turned his gaze to Lin and continued, "you’re interesting too, Lin... Haha. Know that I find it fascinating to uncover secrets — not only of the world around us... but of people too."
"And you, Lin, are quite the curious character. You have no surna, yet your skill with weapons and relationship with Silia are very uncharacteristic for an ordinary person... Maybe... maybe you’re her boyfriend? If so, that would explain where you got that katana, which is made by a subsidiary of our family. You know, it’s quite expensive — crafted from high-quality materials from the Magic World and Earth..."
Lin glanced at his katana for a mont, a movent Aran caught and smiled at slightly. When Lin turned his gaze back to Aran, he answered him expressionlessly:
"Aran... You’re a very perceptive person. But... You’re wrong," Lin looked straight into Aran’s eyes.
Aran smiled brightly and widened his eyes slightly, asking:
"Oh? And how so?"
"All your conclusions are based on just a month of observation, and that’s certainly impressive... But everything you said was one big mistake."
"I’m not Silia’s boyfriend, and I’m not connected to her in any way. It’s just that my teenage hormones are still raging, and I’m drawn to girls. And Silia happens to be a very beautiful girl." Lin smiled slightly and glanced at Silia’s stunning figure.
Silia noticed Lin’s gaze and frowned.
"Oh? So it’s just hormones? For soone like you, can’t you just ignore them? You know, I’ve noticed you often spend ti with that other girl — I think her na was Yulan, right? Isn’t she enough for you? Haha," Aran laughed with a grin.
Lin scoffed and looked coldly at Aran, saying:
"Aran, you’d better stop your little tricks. They might work on others, but not on ."
"Hahahaha! Alright, alright. You’re really difficult to talk to, Lin. Let’s just enjoy the match between Silia and Royal."
Lin didn’t continue the conversation with Aran. He had understood from the start that every word Aran said could be used against him. It was also obvious that Aran had co just to gather information — and he wasn’t even trying to hide it.
"But his sudden appearance beside ... He likely used his skill to do that. What was he trying to show? That he always hears everything, even if others don’t notice? Or was he trying to leave a strong impression to cloud my thoughts? And that Aran... What’s his Title?"
Lin looked at Egro and asked in a low voice:
"Aran ntioned that his "sudden appearance" didn’t work on you. Were you able to sense him, so you didn’t get startled?"
Egro nodded slowly and explained:
"My skill has a passive ability: I can sense any shift in consciousness within five ters of . That Aran... He has a very strange ability. Though I can’t see him with the naked eye, with this skill, I always sense fluctuations in his consciousness — so I can tell when he’s nearby."
"So his first question to you was basically about your ability to sense consciousness?" Lin asked.
Egro shrugged.
"That’s what I thought too... but it feels like there’s a deeper aning behind it."
While they talked, Anthony stepped onto the arena and announced:
"Well then, two representatives of the Five Families will now fight! This is the perfect opportunity to understand how a family treats its children. On the left side: Silia Matrix, the flower of the Matrix family. And on the right: Royal Arsafon — a na that speaks for itself. Still, I’ll add that he’s incredibly strong for his age."
"Alright, you’ll be using weapons provided by the academy. You know the rules. Skills are allowed! Just don’t cross the line! Now — begin!"
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